


The Short Stick

by mortenavida



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abandonment, From an RP, Gen, M/M, Manipulation, Marriage, Mentions of Suicide, Not Beta Read, tony just has a shitty life okay?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-14 10:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1263259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortenavida/pseuds/mortenavida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki and Tony met long before the Avengers.  Loki had come to Midgard to escape his family and the pressures he felt on Asgard, and never did he intend to fall for Tony Stark.  Never did Tony Stark intend to fall for Loki, either.  But it happened, and they were engaged.  And then Tony went to Afghanistan, and Loki couldn't find him.  Thinking he was dead, Loki went back home to mourn.  When Tony returned and Loki wasn't there, well, there was really no point was there.</p><p>And then Coulson showed up in his penthouse with a consultation and a villain: Loki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Short Stick

**Author's Note:**

> This was from an RP that I did with a friend of mine and it's just a snippit of Tony's life before they meet again. Tried to explain as much as possible in the summary. But it was just sitting in my inbox, I figured I'd do something with it.

Whenever Rhodey tried to tell Tony about home, Tony would change the subject and ask about work.  When he ran out of things to ask about, he had slept and refused to even think about how angry Loki was now.  He had missed their wedding day, after all.  He was smarter than this - getting kidnapped, really?  Being kept for three months?  It was insulting.

 

Walking off the plane and just seeing Pepper standing there, red lining her eyes, hurt.  He just told himself that Loki was at home waiting for him.  He just had to make it through the press conference and go home and then he would find some comfort.  Maybe, with Loki's arms wrapped securely around himself, he could get sleep without nightmares.

 

Finding the house empty was never on his plans.  He stared at his coffee table, full of gifts and well-wishes, and wanted nothing more than to toss it over the cliff his house rested on.  He just wanted Loki.

 

"Jarvis?  Where--"

 

"He isn't here."

 

Tony jerked around, frowning as Obadiah came into the room.  "Sneaking up on me isn't good, you know."

 

Obie gave a small smile, resting a hand on the bar counter.  "Sorry.  I meant to tell you before you got here, but then you pulled that little stunt at the conference.  Miss Potts and I had to clean up quite a bit, and I believe she's still there."

 

Tony sat down, dragging a hand roughly through his hair.  "Where is he?"

 

Obie pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Tony.  "This is the only thing he left behind.  Where don't know where it happened."

 

He took the envelope, the pain in his chest now not from the reactor.  Obie left before he could start reading, and Tony was glad.

 

Everything on the coffee table did, eventually, make it out the window.

 

Nobody but Pepper saw him for weeks after that.  Tony kept to himself -- to his lab and to his building.  There was another reactor, another suit -- so many nights of nightmares and torture.

 

He had survived for Loki, but Loki chose not to survive for him.

 

He also didn't go to that charity ball, but something made him.  Something made him find out about Obadiah's betrayal -- it made him wonder if Loki was murdered instead.  Tony didn't know, but he wanted to find out.

 

After Obadiah was dead and he had the files in front of him, he wanted to scream.  Obadiah hadn't killed Loki, so he was back to square one.  He was back to drinking his troubles away, bringing girls home only to leave the room before sex happened.  When the poisoning started, he simply saluted it and continued on his way.  If Loki wasn't here, then it wasn't worth it.  Let Pepper have the company, he didn't care anymore.

 

Nothing wanted to kill him, despite how much he tried, and that hurt more than a surgery in a dirty cave.  The stunts, the car in Monoco -- Whiplash (whoever decided to name Vanko that was strange).  Every time, Tony came out alive, even if he didn't want to be.

 

If Pepper wasn't in danger, again, he wouldn't have even put the new core into his reactor.  Even after he saved her, he debated putting the old one back in, but Pepper knew.  Pepper hid it from him.  And then Pepper told him that if he wanted to die, he could take the cowards way out and put a bullet in his brain, but he would be an idiot to do so.  Loki, if he were still here, would want him to live.  She was sure Loki regretted what he had done and Tony believed her.

 

She began to sleep in his bed just to sleep, just to help chase the nightmares away.  Eventually, Tony wouldn't let her leave.  Still celibate, it was comforting to have someone there beside him. Someone who could ease the pain and chase the nightmares.

 

Tony actually wished he could be more for her.

 

He made plans to take that step, to let himself love again, and then Agent Coulson broke through his security to come up the elevator with a consultation from SHIELD.  A consultation for an Asgard villain named Loki.

 

Tony didn't want to know, didn't want to get involved, but he had to.  To close his past and open up his future with Pepper, he had to find out.  So she left for Washington, and he left for Germany.


End file.
